Party without a difference

It took the BJP 29 long years. But by expelling Jaswant Singh for praising MA Jinnah in a book, party bosses have shown that the BJP now operates pretty much the same way most political formations in the country, most notably, the Congress do. When it was formed in 1980, ironically, the BJP had found favour among certain sections of the population not only for Hindu chauvinism but also for its blatant anti-Congressism. The horrors of Emergency were still fresh in people's mind as also the notion that during her stint Indira Gandhi had institutionalised corruption in the country.

That apart, Indira was said to rarely tolerate dissent, and she did, by many accounts, irreparable harm to Indian democracy by encouraging a culture of sycophancy and nepotism.

The BJP, some hoped, would do things differently. In the first session of the party in December 1980 in Bombay, former chief justice of the Bombay HC and Cabinet Minister MC Chagla said: "The huge gathering is Bombay's answer to Indira. This is the only party that can replace Indira."

And the BJP did emerge as a party with a difference, in discipline and internal democracy. LK Advani rose from being a pracharak to the party president, living a life of austerity and hard work, as did many others in the party, who now occupy top positions. You could also ask questions in the party and state your point of view without fear of being expelled. Or sidelined.

Things are different now. So different that the saffron outfit almost resembles the Congress. Worse still, in the way it is stubbing out dissidence and debate most notably after its humiliating Lok Sabha defeat, the BJP is also getting close to the Samajwadi Party and the CPI(M).

Consider these. When Azam Khan, one of the founder-members of the SP, raised his voice against corruption in the party, his old friend and party boss Mulayam Singh Yadav showed him the door. It didn't matter that Khan was a mass leader and had built the party from scratch. Or that there might be some truth to his allegations and the party needed to look within. Mulayam Singh decided to let go of Azam, with some prodding from Amar Singh of course. Before Khan's expulsion other old-timers also met the same fate when they dared to speak up.
It's worse in the CPI(M). What Prakash Karat decides, the comrades follow. Blindly. No arguments, no debates. VS Achuthanandan might have had a rather decent stint as the chief minister of Kerala. More, his rants against state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan might be based on solid evidence of the latter's involvement in the SNC-Lavalin case. But it's Achuthanandan who has been censured time and again.u00a0u00a0

The BJP's in the same boat now. Jinnah's ghost must be smiling.